UNDERSTANDING TIMES AND SEASONS: DAVID AND GOLIATH 1

Life is full of uncertainties. Man wakes up daily to contend with new and existing challenges while ensuring that he keeps living at all cost. One of the many things that brings all men to the same page and level without regard for the status of anyone is challenges and issues of life. No matter who you claim to be, challenges will still come your way. What determines how we go about unraveling the issues and calming the storm is our preparation for the rainy days, our level of influence and our ability to harness all the resources in our care to bring forth solution to that present challenge. In the same vein, believers must understand and learn early that life will always test what we claim to believe about God! Man’s belief system will constantly have to be subjected to many situations of life as though life takes interest in checking if what we believe to be true is truly true or not. The reason why we must all keep our experience about God real and without exaggeration is that, life is coming to test what we claim to know about God. The right question to ask here is this: can your present knowledge of God bail you out of trouble and calamity tomorrow? When life begin to ask you questions and begin to shake your ideologies about God, will you stand firm inside God without shaking even when it seems your whole world is crashing down? Our study in this episode is the kind that is expected to open our understanding to why we must truly know God, understand His ways and ultimately sustain the wisdom to discern when to apply each of the principles we’ve learnt about God. It is time to glean from the heart of the Father again, Get ready for the Fire Experience!

We are taking a study into the popular story about the conquest between David and Goliath. Right from Children Bible Class, one of the most fascinating stories kids are exposed to, in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. A lot of movies and cartoons keep coming out of the production room as regard this same special story. Beyond the glaring lessons of victory that God gave the young boy David against the Giant Goliath, we want to consider how this same story speaks expressly about understanding times and seasons and how we can birth this same victorious experience in our daily lives. The first book of Samuel chapter 16 reveals the background story of our young warlock, David. King Saul had disobeyed God and was already rejected by the King of Kings. It was time for Prophet Samuel to anoint the new King over God’s people, so God led him to the city of Bethlehem to the house of Jesse.

God never forgets our labour and sacrifice for Him!

Over there, we saw even Samuel, the mouthpiece of God making the mistake of choosing based on the physical attributes of Jesse’s first son. Apparently, God was paying attention to the silent devotions of the youngest son of that family, David. God never forgets our labour and sacrifice for Him! David would never have believed there would come a day when he would be anointed as King over the Nation of Israel! Yet, God chose him. 1 Samuel 16:13 gave us the summary of the ordination service that happened that day. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So, Samuel arose and went to Ramah”. This marked the beginning of the outward manifestation of the Spirit of God upon the life of David. The remaining verses of that chapter explains how a distressing spirit came upon King Saul and how David became the available vessel to play the harp before Saul so that the distressing spirit could leave Saul. When the anointing of God comes upon a man, he becomes the reference point in that territory!

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So, Samuel arose and went to Ramah”.

1 SAMUEL 16:13

Also, the further testimony of David on the battlegrounds while persuading the King to allow him face Goliath depicts that David had a track record of trusting God and believing God through every situations of life. David had a testimony of engaging God and experiencing true results through his ordeal with the lion and the bear while tending his father’s sheep. These experiences boosted his trust and faith in God and made him encounter the victorious dimension of God. The different situations of life you are passing through is meant to stretch you into trusting God more and experiencing differs dimensions of Him in action! Until you are almost stranded and God came through for you, you might not understand who the Bible called the God of Provision! Next time challenges come your way, determine to trust God and allow Him take you through the journey of learning something new about His personality. Welcome to the world of Christian living in its truest form!

The different situations of life you are passing through is meant to stretch you into trusting God more and experiencing differs dimensions of Him in action!

In 1 Samuel 17, right after David was anointed as the King by God; the Nation of Israel was at war with Philistine, physically it was time for war and real battle action but spiritually, it was an opportunity for the true sons of the Kingdom to rise and manifest the glory of God. Believers must understand that the entrance of challenges and issues of life does not mean their end or doom but rather, it becomes a doorway of announcement of the children of God. Darkness is bound to cover the earth from time to time as this is the terrain of satan, the god of this age. Isaiah 60:2 gives the right solution that believers must understand to claim their victory at all times. The verse says: “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you”. In the case of the Israelites in the days of Saul, the manifestation of darkness covering the earth was that they were at war with Philistine. At this point, only the ready vessel that God has prepared for special moments like this would be able to deliver God’s people. It is true that, whoever God will use mightily must first be trained by God and must sustain a track record of having stayed with God enough to wield His presence and glory to bring forth the desired result before the people!

“For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you”.

ISAIAH 60:2

In this particular battle between Israel and Philistine, it is very sad to note that, no one in the camp of Israel was fit and trained enough to challenge the champion in the enemy’s camp, Goliath. For forty days, the enemy kept harassing the army of Israel including the rejected King Saul. The bible’s description of Goliath depicts him to be an experienced war lord that has mastered the art of winning battles over many years. This can only mean one thing for Israel; it must take a man of similar stature and courage to confront him let alone winning him in battle which seems totally impossible for the me of Israel. In this same manner, life challenges only respond to equal opposing force coming to challenge it back! It is possible to be incapable of unraveling the challenges of life. It is possible to be inadequate and lacking in resources to fight the battles of life just like the men of Israel before Goliath! In times like this, only men that already mastered time and understood seasons can rise and become the saviours of their days!

It is possible to be inadequate and lacking in resources to fight the battles of life just like the men of Israel before Goliath!

As we round up this first part of the story of David and Goliath, I want to challenge you by asking you this question, are you prepared enough to battle with the Goliaths on your way to your destiny fulfillment? The Israelites lacked in their arsenal the required weapon to defeat their lousy enemy, all that they could call their preparations and weapons were useless before this particular enemy! It is time for you to check your own life and revisit all that you call your advantage over the enemy. Will you stand in the days of fierce battles of life? Remember, the Name of the Lord is a strong tower, it is when you run back to God that He can save you; you might need to return back to Him in the Secret Place today so you can be furnished and made ready for the several battles of life! In our next episode, we shall discuss how David rose to become the Saviour of Israel and thereby position himself to be used mightily by God in his generation. It all starts with the understanding of times and seasons! Thanks for visiting The Fire Place.